OUR PASTOR
Reverend Alan Gould, Sr. - Biography
About Our Pastor…
Rev. Alan M. Gould, Sr. has over thirty years of experience in the ministry, of which 36 has been spent in the pastoral ministry.
Rev. Gould is a native of the eastern shore of Maryland; born in Queenstown, Maryland to the late Beulah Mae Brown Gould and George Gould, Sr. Rev. Gould is the third in line of four children born to that union.
Rev. Gould accredits his passion to the ministry and the serving of God's people to his humble beginnings of both his father's as well as his mother's church. Nurtured in the steep tradition of Methodism, Rev. Gould attended Bryans United Methodist Church, his father's church and Robinson African Methodist Episcopal Church, his mother's church. At the tender age of 11 he joined Robinson A.M.E. Church.
Rev. Gould is a graduate of Queen Anne's County High School in Centerville, Maryland. He furthered his educational studies at Chesapeake College, Wye Mills, Maryland and Salisbury State University, Salisbury, Maryland.
Rev. Gould was ordained an itinerate deacon in 1981 in the Baltimore Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and he was appointed to serve Collins Temple A.M.E. Church in Snow Hill, Maryland. Rev Gould was later ordained an intenerate elder in 1983, while at Collins Temple.
Highlights of Pastor Gould's ministry:
Collins Temple A.M.E., Snow Hill, Maryland 1981 - 1988
- Increased membership from 16 to 105
- Purchased a nine-room parsonage
- Erected an outdoor bulletin board
- Purchased a 40 passengers school bus for transportation ministry
St. Paul A.M.E., Crisfield, Maryland 1989 - 2004
- Increased membership from 12 to 250 men, women and children
- Completed renovated sanctuary
- Cushioned the pews
- Purchased a 15-passenger van
- Re-pointed the brick of the outer structure of the church and redid all the stained glass windows
Mt. Olive A.M.E., Salisbury, Maryland 2003-2004
- Pastored Mt. Olive as a circuit church with St. Paul for a year to stabilize it until appointed as Pastor of the Historic Bethel A.M.E. Church, Cambridge, Maryland in 2004
Bethel A.M.E., Cambridge, Maryland 2004-2008
- Church membership increased by 86 members
- Organized the Edward E. Watkins Endowment Fund for quality living
- Started a senior citizen ministry
- Instituted the Church School, which netted some 40+ children since its inception
- Started the Abel Men of Bethel Ministry plus other innovated ideas
Rev. Gould's community activities
- Member of the NAACP Queen Anne County Chapter, 1979 to present
- Served as president of Grasonville Community Center, Inc., 1983-985
- President of the A.M.E. Eastern Shore Ministerial Alliance, 1993-2000
- Executive member of Circle of Leaders, a political action group comprising the counties of Wicomico, Worchester, Somerset and Talbot, 1997-2000
- Organizer and founder of Crisfield Concerned Citizens for Change; founded in 1993, incorporated, January 1995
- Member of Somerset Business and Community Advisory Committee
- Board member of the Harriet Tubman Coalition, Cambridge, Maryland, 2007 to present
- Member of the Advisory Committee to Social Services of Dorchester County 2006 to present
- Member of Pride of Cambridge Lodge #50 AF&M Prince Hall Mason Jurisdiction of Maryland, Inc.; serves as chaplain, 2006 to present
- Appointed by Governor Martin O'Malley to serve as a Commissioner on the Capitol Punishment Committee, 2008
Rev. Gould has received numerous citations and recognitions including:
- The key to the city of Crisfield by the Mayor and City Council
- Honored by the Tri-County NAACP of Worchester, Wicomico and Somerset Counties as a humanitarian for taking a stand against the drug problems in Crisfield
- Honored by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity as an outstanding black preacher and role model for black males
- Honored by the Baltimore Annual Conference Lay Organization as a model clergyman
Rev. Gould's ministry expands outside of the normal church atmosphere as he has served numerous social and civic events as the keynote speaker.
Reverend Gould is currently pastoring Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. Since being at Allen Chapel, Reverend Gould has grown the church from 175 members to over 352 men, women, children, youth and young adults. They purchased a 30 passenger coach for the transportation ministry. The church does 43 different ministries from within the structure. Reverend Gould has reduced the mortgage from 1.4 million to $720,000.00
Rev. Gould's motto is "no church is too small when it comes to serving God's people. Rev. Gould is currently pastoring the Silver Spring area with the same intense passion for ministry, which he hopes will perpetuate the Allen Chapel family and the community of Fairland and East Montgomery County to higher spiritual heights.
Pastor Gould believes in the holistic ministry of Christ which advocates our relationship with Christ, our social standing in the world as well as our health and wellbeing. His charismatic style of ministry as well as his traditional views is inspiring to all generations.
Rev. Gould is married to Fay Waters Gould and they are the parents of four children, Erica Crosby, Nicole Gould, Cherelle Waters, Alan Gould, Jr.; son-in-law Derrick Crosby; and four grandchildren, Logan Quinn, Derrick Crosby II, Jayden Korphi, and Tremaine M. Robinson, Jr.
OUR MISSION
The mission of Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church is to prepare God's people for kingdom living through sound biblical principles and to recruit disciples for Christ. We stand as Christians who are physically accountable and spiritually responsible.
OUR VISION
A loving ministry for Christ that teaches the Word of God as a guide to daily living; focused on Kingdom Building and Community Service.
OUR MOTTO
"Loving God; Loving People; Loving Community"
OUR HISTORY
Everything has a beginning. And so it was with Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church. In 1870, a few dedicated people sought to establish a church for their community where God would be glorified through their worship. Henry Walker, Jerry Gaither, and George Gaither organized themselves as trustees and set out to purchase land under the auspices of the African Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States of America for the development of a church. Surely there were disappointment and frustration during their quest for land, but GOD blessed them when William and Lucretia Batchelor agreed to sell them one acre of land for one hundred dollars in an area originally known as "Providence" located in Wheaton, (Montgomery County), Maryland.
With a few members of the community, such as Augustus Dorsey and others, the foundation of the building was started in 1873. After toiling during the day making a living for their families, the members worked nights with the aid of lantern light. Then finally in 1875, the cornerstone was laid and the building was finished. The original structure was a single story frame building. The church was named ALLEN CHAPEL in honor of Richard Allen, the founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E.).
The theme of the A.M.E. Church, "GOD Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer and Man Our Brother" burned in the hearts of the newly formed congregation and the community at large. Evidence of the church's outreach into the community was the founding of the Morning Star Lodge in 1875 by John Addison, Jerry Gaither, George Gaither and Richard Gaither. The Lodge was formed to lend moral and financial support to members of the congregation during times of personal crisis.
Not only were the founding church members concerned with worshiping and ministering to the community, but they were also concerned about educating the children in the community. In 1880, the church was the site of the first school for Black people in the Wheaton area.
In the 1890's Allen Chapel AME was the mother church to many who traveled a distance to attend worship service there. Over time a number of them felt they were traveling too far, and needed a closer place to worship. That group went on to establish Lee Memorial A.M.E. Church in Kensington, MD, the offspring of its mother church, Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church in Wheaton, Maryland.
In 1957 a fire destroyed the roof, and the south most portion of Allen Chapel. With the help of God and dedicated members, the church was rebuilt (photo on the right). That basic structure still exists today.
Throughout the years, Allen Chapel has grown and prospered under the leadership of many pastors including Reverend Baron D.Young who came to Allen in 1993. Along with his wife, Reverend Karen L.Young, they led Allen Chapel through some turbulent times. Under their pastorate, the Allen church family remained strong through the turmoil and saw a significant increase in membership, expansion of ministries and programs in the church. Reverend Karen L. Young was instrumental in organizing and developing the Intercessory Prayer Ministry, The Women's Ministry, the Liturgical Dance Ministry and revitalizing our young women's mentoring ministry, Kidadah.
In 2000, New creation Baptist Church presented an offer to buy Allen Chapel and its grounds. Reverend Dr. Ella Redfield and her sisters often attended Allen Chapel where their grandparents and great-grandparents worshiped and found a resting place in the church cemetery. Believing this was a move of God, Reverend Young and the Allen Chapel Trustees recommended the sell Allen to New Creation. The members voted and agreed and now the old Allen Chapel home rests in the hands of Dr. Redfield and the New Creation Baptist Church family.
In March 2001, church leadership signed a deal to purchase a piece of property known as Covenant of Peace in the Fairland community of Silver Spring in eastern Montgomery County and in November of 2006, under the watchful eye and provisional hand of God, construction on the new Allen Chapel Church building began. During that 5 year wait, worship services were conducted at Paint Branch High School in Silver Spring.